Of Gods And Men
by HexesandCrows
Summary: A great reckoning is upon the realm, at the hands of the crazed King. Prince Draco must prove his worth and assume his destiny, Hermione must try not to kill the arrogant prat while he does so. The Gods have many things in store for the young duo during their long journey. AU, Dramione, Rated M for later. AU:Dramione,


**Chapter One**

The presumption of his son, to think he was _owed_ the golden throne because of his birthright alone, genuinely amused King Malfoy; the fact that Draco was now demanding it of him was indeed beguiling. The boy may be correct in his assertion that he should've been crowned years before, but incorrect in believing himself strong enough to dethrone him on this night.

"It is my destiny! " Prince Draco roared, spit flying from his mouth from the veracity of his words, "You have served your time father, it's time you step down! No King has ever usurped his own flesh of his flesh. Why father, must you be so obstinate, and insist on impeding my right to the trials?!"

"Why should I bow down to you, a mere child?" The king demanded, growing weary of listening to Draco drone on about his rights, "Was it not I, who shook the heavens and plucked the finest of treasures from the rubble it bore down upon us, so that you may one day walk amongst the gods? Was it not I, who shaped you from the earth mothers clay, and let my seed give birth to the bones and marrow that make you so?" Lucius smirked, as the memory of why this war between father and son began at all, flashed across his mind's eye, " And was it not I, who saw the ocean spit you out after you were deemed unworthy of all that I had given you?"

Draco's rage had reached the point of no redemption, this night he would be made a king, take the throne from his crazed father and save their kingdom from the ruin that had plagued them the past few years.

"I challenge you, King..." Draco began, but his father moved towards him with god-like speed before he could finish, grabbing the scruff of Draco's tunic and raising him into the air. "And you expect me, the true king father, ruler of time and the realms of men, to let my knees kiss the ground before your ungrateful mud trodden feet?" The strength of the Kings' words bellowed throughout the empty hall, traveling through every corridor of the castle, rattling doors and forcing portraits from the walls.

Narcissa frantically arose from her place of repose at the raucous, immediately aware of the chaos that was unfolding in the hall below. Her foolhardy son had finally confronted his father about his right to ascend, something that should've happened five years before. Instead, the trial of gold had been tainted by her husband's madness, he thought himself immortal and that the kingdom should always belong to him; a thousand years of ancient magic and traditions be damned. Upon his twenty-first year, Draco set off into the ocean to retrieve the golden chalice from the murky depths below, just as every king before him had. Never had one tampered with an heir's right to ascend, Draco was destined to gain full control of his magical essence and drink from the moon child's veins the power of a hundred kings before him. He was the one prophesied for greatness, fated to inherit incomprehensible strength and was raised knowing this as absolute truth. The first son of the first son, of the first son and so on, as it had been for a millennia. However Lucius decided by refusing Draco, he would become what was foretold of his son. The minute Draco's fingertips had gripped the cup from its sandy tomb, it vanished. A spell placed upon the golden chalice at the hands of his father. Draco's power had been bubbling beneath the surface ever since; coursing through his body every day, a crackling of energy just beyond his reach.

Narcissa had informed her son of this just a fortnight ago, and the prince had been justifiably enraged by the audacity of his father to interfere with his destiny. Draco had been seething beneath the surface ever since; she could see the contempt flash in his eyes everytime Lucius addressed him as Prince instead of the King that he was meant to be.

Narcissa flew down the corridor as these thoughts ran through her head, dashing down the staircase with the speed of a gazelle, channeling all her magic into her hands as she pushed through the doors that would lead her to her son, praying to the gods she wasn't too late.

She was.

Her son lay broken in a bloody heap at the feet of her husband, whose hands were dripping with their progenies blood, as his haunting laughter echoed around her.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" She screamed, flying towards Draco and laying her hands on his wounds. A warm blue light began to emanate from her shaking palms, and she heaved a huge sigh of relief. He was alive, she couldn't heal those who had passed beyond the veil, and the light meant there was still life within her only child. Lucius meanwhile, was still laughing, his strange cackle reaching a fever pitch when he saw the boy began to twitch beneath Narcissa's healing touch.

"What have I done? " Lucius sneered when his humor subsided, wiping his bloodied hands upon his trousers, "Nothing more than what he deserved, he dares to challenge me? Demand my throne! I think not." Narcissa was trying desperately to coax a near conscious Draco to a standing position, she was unable to bear the weight of his near limp body, and they tumbled forward to the floor, much to the mad Kings' delight. "Now woman, be gone from here. Remove the disgrace from my castle and my kingdom. He is hereby banished!" Lucius last words rang throughout the realm with a thunderous finality, and Narcissa felt the ground beneath began to quake.

"No, you can't do this!"

"And yet, it is so. If you do not abide _wife_ , you will see the true might of my power, and his heart will cease to beat." Narcissa cursed herself for letting it escalate this far; she should've stopped her husband long ago. She watched on helplessly as Lucius retreated from the hall, afraid to attempt aiding Draco again until the king's heavy footsteps were faded far into the distance.

An eternity seemed to have passed before Narcissa was confident her husband had retired to his room, which resided in the tallest tower where he would be dead to the world for the remainder of the evening. She called out for her most trusted Handmaiden immediately.

"Hermione! Come child, quickly to the great hall!"

Hermione felt the tug of her slave bond and immediately roused from her slumber, her master's words echoing in her head. Why would she be needed in the Great Hall? At this Hour? The urgent tremble in her Queens' voice caused a pit of nervousness to settle in her stomach. Hermione threw on her lavender peplos, and hurriedly fastened the extra material in the middle over her shoulder with the Malfoy incrested silver brooch, which was bestowed upon all of the Queen's Handmaidens when chosen for her service.

She didn't bother with grabbing her sandals; instead, she ran barefoot from her quarters and crossed the vast expanse of the courtyard into the castle. Entering quietly through a secret entrance only known to the Queen and a few choice servants. The Great Halls doors were never unlocked during these hours and seeing the scorched handprints that marred the entrance as she pushed through the cumbersome doors with no resistance, caused Hermione's throat to dry with fear and the nervous pit within to twist tighter.

"My Queen?" Hermione spoke quietly into the room, her eyes having trouble adjusting to the near pitch black darkness.

The torches along the wall suddenly were ablaze, and the scene before her had Hermione rushing to her Queens side; the prince's beaten body was cradled like a child in her arms, his head laying in the Queen's lap as she stroked his face softly.

"You must take him and run my child. He has been banished, and won't be strong enough to survive on his own for a while." Narcissa was crying now, and she didn't have the time to explain more, "Go and gather your belongings, I will arrange for your rations and travel. Now go! You must not be seen and tell no one what you are doing if you are." Hermione was taken aback by the fragility of her queen's voice, and though she was confused as to what had occurred to leave the prince in such a broken state, she did as her queen bid and hastily took off to her chambers.

Meanwhile, Narcissa had also reached through her bond to the kingdoms alchemist and her most trusted friend, Severus Snape. He arrived in the Great Hall shortly after Hermione had rushed out and was well aware of the situation and had brought with him many potions to aide Draco as he healed. Severus also brought with him one of the Castles work elves, who was carrying a large sack full of a year's rations; it also contained the materials needed to ensure one's survival in the unforgiving wilderness that surrounded the kingdom from which Draco was being cast out.

"Severus...I am afraid he has gone to far this time. Look at my son! Barely hanging on to life, his magic and Throne denied by that maniacal husband of mine!" Severus leaned down beside Narcissa and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, before unstopping a vial of thick green liquid and forcing it down Draco's throat. It was a disgusting concoction of rather unsavory items, but its ability to heal internal injuries was rather remarkable. Narcissa hadn't been able to improve her son's condition with her healing skills as well as she would've liked. It had been so long since she had called upon them. The strength of her magic had greatly diminished over the years; she also exerted far too much energy opening the massive doors into the Hall and that limited her from the beginning. Lucius had significantly restricted her from using her magic after she saved Severus from one of his many jealous fits of rage; twenty years had passed since that incident.

"You must say your goodbyes now Cissa, Draco needs as much of a lead as possible before your husband," Severus spit out the word husband in disdain, "rises in the morn, and solicits the dementors to pass their judgment against the prince." Narcissa gasped at the truth in his words; her husband would make sure Draco didn't survive his banishment, and the horror of the situation was finally crashing down around her.

"What can I do? What should I do Severus?"Narcissa nearly whimpered, either way it went, she would most likely never see her son again.

"I believe him thinking the boy is already dead wouldn't be the worst plan," Severus suggested, already knowing that Narcissa would agree to anything to save her son. "Have your Handmaiden meet me at the stables, and I will assure the King is made aware of Draco's untimely demise. He will want to see a body, and I will arrange for one of the elves to procure a prisoner from the dungeons of similar build. I have enough glamouring potion in my reserve to convince the fool of the validity of the claim."

Hermione was already sneaking back through the courtyard with her goatskin bag clutched tightly to her chest, when she felt her queens' new demand to go to the stables. The bag was heavy with books and little else, she was only allowed so many possessions as a servant, and her books were the only thing in this realm worth more than her very life to her. Leftover tales of her homelands and all that remained of her parents were written amongst the worn out pages, and they wouldn't be left behind. If the prince had been banished and she tasked to assist him in the aftermath; she was confident that she would never see the grounds of this castle again, so no book was left behind. She switched trajectory and headed toward where she was beckoned to, hopeful this meant a carriage would be provided for their trek into the forbidden forest. Hermione assumed this was where they would be journeying to first, as it was the quickest route to the nearest oceans port where the duo should be able to board a ship and sail away to a new life.

Simple enough.

Nothing is ever that easy though, and Hermione would soon find out just how hard the next chapter of her life would be.

A/N This will be an Au of course! Please review! Would love to know if this is a story people would be interested in reading!


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